Bull nosed hooves



Relatively subtle bull nose



Lovely example, note HA, pair to next photo



Pair to previous

Hoof from 3rd photo note bull has dropped out.  Very clear HA

Getting there

What is a bull nosed hoof? Most (but not all) bull nosed hooves are found on the hinds. They are how the hind feet express deficiencies in diet and trimming that are normally (but not always) seen as flaring in the fronts.

The first photo shows a distinct but subtle bull nose. The remaining photos show the journey from a recently deshod (and pretty sick) hoof to a straighter healthier hoof. There is still a way to go, but I think you will agree, the difference is noticeable.

Healing angle

Red line traces healing angle to ground

Immature, weak foot scooting forward

Hard working hoof maintains HA

Some hooves are so compromised it is hard to find the healing angle. For most of us we can check approx' 1cm below the hairline to find it. Sometimes it is easier to use touch. Don't let yourself get confused by the rubbery bit of the coronary band - go below that.

This angle should be maintained all the way to the ground. However if you sight the hoof from the side or gently run your fingers down the toe wall of the hoof you may be able to see and/or feel divergence away from the healing angle.

The first two photos show feet that are scooting forwards, but in a hind foot you more likely to find a bull nose effect. They are equally incorrect.

When your horse can maintain a healing angle to the ground you are doing something right! If you are transitioning a horse and you can see/feel that healing angle getting closer to the ground you know you are making progress. If the healing angle never gets much further down the hoof than the top 1.5cm or so then you know something somewhere isn't working for your horse.

A long toe delays breakover and compromises function of the hoof.  This will inevitably have a negative impact on the limb and rest of the horse.  Achieving and maintaining the HA to the ground is all about function - it's a useful and important measure

Hooves don't lie and the healing angle

Failure to understand the healing angle causes a lot of horses a lot of unnecessary grief*. Although in one sense it is a pretty simple, straight forward guide, because getting it right is so important I am not going to attempt to go into detail about it here. Much better to either get in an AANHCP trimmer or attend a course run by the training arm of the AANHCP.

But in short - hooves will grow at the correct angle within the context of that particular horse, if the horse is allowed to live optimally (this includes the whole DEET).

You can see the angle the hoof wants to grow at, near the top of the hoof, just below the coronary band. If this angle doesn't continue to the ground, something, somewhere is going wrong. And there is no arguing with this, hooves don't lie, they just do what they need to do. No matter how frustrating tracking down the problem is, no matter how 'perfect' the management being offered, if the healing angle can not be maintained then 'Houston we have a problem.'

*I am pretty sure that 'traditional' trimming does not acknowledge the healing angle - hence the fixation with wedges, caulks etc (which totally disrespect the healing angle).

Very subtle flare - can you see it?

My own horse's health is being compromised by the wrong sort of hay (long story for another day) - a situation I hope to correct very soon. But if you just took how she looked and performs overall you might never think there was any issue. (see first photo)


In the second photo you may be able to see the subtle deviation from the healing angle?


But when I mark it up, it is not so insignificant.


The hoof is providing several other clues that all is not 100%:-

Event lines
Rather flat sole
Stretched white line (at toe)
Still footy over stones

If she had shoes on I probably wouldn't have noticed any of these things and Grace could have continued suffering LGL for years until she had a major lami episode.

While we might be struggling (very hard to get the right sort of hay at the moment) at least we are aware that Grace's health is not as good as it could be and can take steps to ameliorate it.